Busch Gardens Williamsburg has announced the addition of an all new wooden coaster in 2017, featuring a top speed of 48 mph, a 74 foot drop, 9 airtime hills and 2,118 feet of track.
The story goes that a great battle will ensue in the trappers' village of New France, as a band of
invading Vikings and the residents
of the village fight to protect their
outpost. The new roller coaster will have wooden track and steel supports, and will be located close to the Le Scoot log flume and the Busch Gardens Railway, taking riders through a woodland terrain and an underground tunnel.
Busch Gardens Williamsburg claims that it will be the world's first crowdsourced ride, but instead of asking for donations they are inviting you to 'Decide the Ride' and become co-creators with the theme park team for this unique new attraction. The first element to this is giving you the opportunity to vote for the name of the new ride, with the three possible contenders being Viking Raider, Battle Klash or InvadR.
The new roller coaster will be manufactured by Great Coasters International, whose other projects include Gold Striker at California's Great America, Apocalypse at Six Flags Magic Mountain, White Lightning at Fun Spot America in Orlando and Heidi: The Ride which is new this year at Plopsaland in Belgium. The latter two feature a similar specification (a top speed of 44 mph, a 67 foot drop and 2,032 feet of track) so the new wooden coaster at Busch Gardens Williamsburg may be a similar model and design. They both feature Millennium Flyer trains.
Dan Dipiazzo, vice president of marketing: “Our fans are so loyal and passionate about this park, and we want to make them co-creators in this exciting new project.We still have a lot of details to finalize for this attraction, and our guests will get to weigh in and be a part of the development.”
Larry Giles, vice president of engineering: “This will be a great ride for families, but make no mistake: this will not be a kiddie ride. This coaster will feature an exciting drop of 74 feet and will have nine airtime hills, the same number as Apollo’s Chariot. It’s going to be a wild ride. Riders will get the best of both worlds: the stability of steel supports with the classic feel of a great wooden coaster. Bussch Gardens has a reputation for creating unique ride experiences, and our new family coaster will certainly continue that tradition. The dynamics of a wooden coaster, combined with the many ways it will interact with the terrain and nearby attractions, will make this a one-of-kind thrill.”
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